Things to Do

Keri Matthews, a mom of two, has worked in the ASPCA’s licensing department for more than five years. She lives on Long Island with her husband, Tom, her children, Gabriella and Tommy, and their Greyhound, Clyde.

Wearing Orange. Our family has committed to wearing orange every Saturday in support of the ASPCA‘s mission. This is an easy task for us to execute with younger kids.

Donating Supplies. We are also planning to donate some items to our local shelter, including towels, placemats for the kitties to rest on, plastic bags and baby wipes. Our daughter Gabriella is looking forward to dropping off these items to help the animals.

Visiting Our Local Shelter. We have started to talk to Gabriella about how families looking for pets should visit animal shelters to take a friend home. Our visit to our local shelter to drop off supply donations will be Gabriella’s first time at an animal shelter, but certainly not her last!

As summer begins and families nationwide prepare for road trips and summer camp, animal shelters are experiencing a hectic time of year known as kitten season. While the “kitten season” moniker might bring adorable images to mind, this time of year can be devastating for shelters. Between March and November, animal shelters experience a flood of homeless cats and newborn kittens in need of care.

Kitten season is in full swing, and there are plenty of ways your family can help out! Here are just a few suggestions to you get started:

Foster a feline. Due to the influx of kittens arriving at shelters during kitten season, shelters often struggle with overcrowding. You can help alleviate this problem by providing foster care for a cat (or multiple kittens!) in your home until they’re ready for adoption. If you live in New York City and would like to foster for the ASPCA, please visit our foster care page.

Looking for Cyber Monday deals online? If you download a browser app called We-Care, a portion of your online purchases will be donated to the ASPCA at no extra cost to you. You can shop over 2,500 sites like Macy’s, Sears, Travelocity, and Zales.

While ads for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are running on a continuous loop on every TV network, there’s a special day coming up next week that hasn’t received as much press attention. Launched in 2012, Giving Tuesday is a nationwide push to kick off the holiday season with a day of giving back to causes that matter. Giving Tuesday will take place on December 3. The ASPCA is an official Giving Tuesday partner, and we are excited to be a part of this special movement.

Here are three ways for you and your family to prepare for this important day:

Talk to your family about Giving Tuesday. This is a perfect opportunity to chat with your family about the importance of supporting those in need not only on Giving Tuesday, but also throughout the hectic holidays.

Spread the word. You can share the news about Giving Tuesday by using the official #GivingTuesday hash tag on your social networks. If you choose to donate to the ASPCA, let us know on Twitter bytweeting @ASPCA, and encourage your family members and friends to do the same!